A man caught laundering $2.3 million worth of drug money as part of a global sting on organised crime has been jailed for nine years.
The man, who has interim name suppression, was arrested last June with about 40 others across the country.
He appeared via a video link at the High Court at Auckland on Friday where he was sentenced by Justice Graham Lang.
The sting was part of a global crackdown on organised crime, described as the “world’s most sophisticated law enforcement action”.
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On Friday, Justice Lang detailed the man’s involvement, which came about after police intercepted his phone calls in 2018 and 2019.
NZ POLICE/Supplied
Drugs and money were seized during the global crackdown on organised crime.
The man maintained control over the cash generated from the drug dealing.
The defendant admitted conspiring to import methamphetamine from China with the alleged leader of the syndicate.
Police found the man and the alleged leader communicated about buying boats to import the methamphetamine from China. However, the conspiracy petered out in May 2018.
The man was also part of a plan to import 1.5 tonnes of cocaine from South America, which was set to be offloaded off the coast of Tauranga.
The defendant bought a boat for $180,000 in November 2018 – a purchase allegedly funded by the leader.
Denis Poroy/AP
Acting United States Attorney Randy Grossman speaking after Operation Trojan Shield was carried out.
The syndicate then spent more than $100,000 to upgrade the boat with a specialised radar system and night vision equipment.
Justice Lang said the man acted as the ‘bank’ for the syndicate, a role that included the purchase of gold bullions.
He also possessed 138kg of methamphetamine for supply. He received $4000 every month for his services to the syndicate.
The court heard the man was naive and became involved in the syndicate because of his friendship with one of the other defendants.
Supplied
Shane Ngakuru was arrested in Thailand before being deported to the United States.
Prosecutor David Johnstone submitted the man’s involvement was significant, however his lawyer Quentin Duff said it was not as significant as some others involved in distributing the drug.
Operation Trojan Shield
The sting, codenamed Operation Trojan Shield, involved police swoops across 16 countries with more than 800 suspects arrested, aided by an encrypted communications platform developed by the FBI.
The sting was part of a global crackdown on organised crime, described as the “world’s most sophisticated law enforcement action”.
New Zealand police said the FBI created a closed encryption system, “AN0M”, to monitor people’s communications and for 18 months the alleged offenders were unwittingly using an FBI system to talk about their criminal behaviour.
The users believed their AN0M devices were protected from law enforcement by impenetrable encryption, police said.
Detectives were able to get hold of thousands of messages.
Detective Superintendent Greg Williams, director of the New Zealand Police’s national organised crime group, previously said transnational groups were preying on vulnerable people.
Last month, Stuff reported senior Comancheros member Shane Ngakuru was arrested in Thailand and handed over to the FBI and reportedly deported to the United States to face charges of his involvement in an international drug sting, according to the Bangkok Post.
